Analyzing conversion in/from Latin America: Theoretical questions, methodological dilemmas and comparative data from Brazil and Argentina.

ALEJANDRO FRIGERIO

Conversion of a Continent: Religious Identity and Change in Latin America.

Rutgers

Lugar: New York; Año: 2007; p. 33 - 51

The idea of conversion has been, for the last decade, the subject of debate in the Southern Cone of South America. In Brazil, where a long tradition of sociological and anthropological studies of religion has produced provocative theories and a rich body of data, scholars are somewhat skeptical about its existence, and have preferred the use of the terms ?passages? (passagems) or ?multiple membership? (pertença multíplice ) as more adequately explaining the religious dynamics in their country. In Argentina, where the concept has been more thoughtfully evaluated -by means of a cognizant review of North American studies of conversion to new religious movements- it has enjoyed a mixed reception. It has been fruitfully used to explain the expansion of Afro-Brazilian religions in the country, but has suffered some criticism on the part of scholars studying Pentecostal growth. The paper will review the arguments for and against the use of the concept of conversion in both countries, as well as the most recent data that bear on the subject.